This book establishes the necessary integration of theological knowledge with theological ethics. It does this as a response to the postmodern critique of Christianity, as exemplified in Rorty and Lyotard. They argue that any claim to know God is necessarily tyrannical. Contemporary responses to such postmodern thinking often fail to address adequately the ethical critique that is made. This book redresses that balance by suggesting that our knowedge of God and love of the Other are so int...

Recent days have seen a debate among evangelicals over how the death of Christ is to be interpreted. When a popular British evangelical leader appeared to denounce the idea that God was punishing Christ in our place on the cross as a "twisted version of events," "morally dubious," and a "huge barrier to faith" that should be rejected in favour of preaching only that God is love, major controversy was stirred. Many thought the idea of penal substitution was at the heart of the evangelical u...

Recent days have seen a debate among evangelicals over how the death of Christ is to be interpreted. When a popular British evangelical leader appeared to denounce the idea that God was punishing Christ in our place on the cross as a "twisted version of events," "morally dubious," and a "huge barrier to faith" that should be rejected in favour of preaching only that God is love, major controversy was stirred. Many thought the idea of penal substitution was at the heart of the evangelical u...

In Speaking Christian, acclaimed Bible scholar Marcus Borg, author of Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, argues that the very language Christians use has become dangerously distilled, distorted, and disconnected from the beliefs which once underpinned it.Stating a case that will resonate with readers of N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian, Borg calls for a radical change to the language we use to invoke our beliefs—the only remedy that will allow the Chu...

Winner of the 2008 Grawemeyer Award in ReligionThis long-awaited book by one of American Christianity's foremost ethicists proposes a framework for sexual ethics whereby justice is the criterion for all loving, including love that is related to sexual activity and relationships. It begins with historical and cross-cultural explorations, then addresses the large questions of embodiment, gender, and sexuality, and finally delineates the justice framework for sexual ethics.Tho...

This is an electronic edition of the complete book complemented by author biography. This book features a table of contents linked to every chapter. The book was designed for optimal navigation on the iPad, Nook, PDA, Smartphone, and other electronic readers. It is formatted to display on all electronic devices including eReaders, Smartphones and other Mobile Devices with a small display.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the community in Rome as 'holy ones'. This study considers Paul's language in relation to the Old Testament, particularly accounts of the events at Mount Sinai that established the nation of Israel and consecrated its people as God's holy people. Sarah Whittle illustrates how Paul reworks citations from Deuteronomy, Hosea, and Isaiah to incorporate the Gentiles into Israel's covenant-renewal texts. Analysing key passages, she further ties the cov...

This volume is a collection of essays in honour of Tübingen theologian Eberhard Jüngel, and is presented to him on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Jüngel is widely held to be one of the most important Christian theologians of the past half-century. The essays honour Professor Jüngel both by offering critical interlocutions with his theology and by presenting constructive proposals on themes in contemporary dogmatics that are prominent in his writings. The Festschrift introduces a new ge...

How can the world's religious traditions debate within the public sphere? In this book, Nicholas Adams shows the importance of Habermas' approaches to this question. The full range of Habermas' work is considered, with detailed commentary on the more difficult texts. Adams energetically rebuts some of Habermas' arguments, particularly those which postulate the irrationality or stability of religious thought. Members of different religious traditions need to understand their own ethical pos...

The Christian era is at an end: after two thousand years the religious faith that has shaped western civilisation has been found wanting. So argues Lloyd Geering in a controversial examination of society and religion, in which he looks at the reasons for Christianity’s decline and the likely shape of spirituality in a global future.Geering, a renowned writer and thinker on social and religious issues, warns of endings and potential catastrophes. But he sees grounds for hope in our increasi...

Inquiring 'whether any war can be just', Thomas Aquinas famously responded that this may hold true, provided the war is conducted by a legitimate authority, for a just cause, and with an upright intention. Virtually all accounts of just war, from the Middle Ages to the current day, make reference to this threefold formula. But due in large measure to its very succinctness, Aquinas's theory has prompted contrasting interpretations. This book sets the record straight by surveying the wide ra...

Believers believe because they are either illiterate or too lazy to read the book they think they believe. The book, all religious books, and especially the unholy top three monotheistic books, are a plethora of crazy rules and countless contradictions. When taken as a hole, the book, any of them, is simply impossible. If the swinging dualistic apologetics were all added up, it would amount to nothing.This doesn't mean they aren't worth reading. It is worth the reading just to see ...